Is a reactive dog a “bad dog”? Nope, not at all. Like any other living being, there are parts of a personality that react differently to different things. Some people, they might be able to walk right out on a stage in front of 10,000 people and talk for an hour, others…they may not even dream of it, and if they have too, will have a panic attack that will cause them to keel over. Does that make them bad people? Nope, just reactive. Jodi explains it all this week on Dog Blessed brought to you by Must Love Dogs and Clock’s Timeless Pets.
Did you know that in having a dog and helping to train your dog, if you’re not getting things right, you could be actually doing more harm than good when it comes to reactivity? Properly training a reactive dog requires building their confidence and changing how they feel about triggers rather than just punishing the behavior. The goal is to keep them safely below their stress threshold, using high-value rewards to create positive associations and teach them to focus on you. Especially after a very intense season for pets, with all the fireworks and noise around the 4th, this is a great time to discuss and learn about the topic. If you need a little more instruction, Jodi is offering a class coming up on July 27th at 7p. You can learn more about that in the graphic below.
